Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardFirefighters responded this morning to 7089 North Manlius Road where an experimental sewage treatment device caught fire. The fire was quickly put out and caused minor damage
Manlius, NY -- Five fire departments were called out this morning to a smokey fire on North Manlius Road that began in an experimental sewage treatment machine in the basement of a two-story home.

The fire was reported to Onondaga County’s 911 Center at 6:57 a.m. It began in the basement of 7089 North Manlius Road in an aerator for a pre-digester, a machine that digests human waste, said Minoa Deputy Chief Dave Matthes Jr. The fire caused minor damage to the home, he said.

Homeowner John Baitsholtz said he and his son put out the fire in the experimental machine before firefighters arrived.

At first he thought a flourescent light fixture in the basement had caught fire, but the smoke continued after he unplugged the fixture, Baitsholtz said. That’s when he saw that it was an aquarium aerator on top of the small septic tank, he said.

The sewage treatment system was developed by the now-defunct Delhi Steel, which had wanted to build a larger system for Syracuse, Baitsholtz said. The company asked if it could put the experimental system in his home, he said.

Firefighters from Bridgeport, East Syracuse, Fayetteville, Kirkville and Minoa responded to the scene. The departments have a mutal aid agreement and respond whenever there is a reported structure fire, Matthes said.